Brothers
by Missography
Summary: Haruki Uzumaki is the older brother to Naruto Uzumaki. Maybe not by blood, but certainly by love. And since neither of them have parents, no one is going to tell him any differently. HP/Naruto crossover, Haruki-is-Harry
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Hello! This is my first fanfiction in a very VERY long time, and I am trying to get back into the swing of things, so forgive me if the pacing is odd or if I make any mistakes! I will try to fix what I can and make it into an enjoyable experience!

An important thing to note is that I will be glossing over a lot of the already established history in both the HP and the Naruto universes. I assume all, or at least most, of you have read and watched the respective series, and therefore I don't need to repeat what we all already know. If you think that more information is needed, let me know and I will think about updating the story to have those scenes. For now, I want to skip to the important part which will be during Harry and the Naruto cast's early shinobi careers.

Now, onto the fun part! Thanks for reading, and enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Naruto.

The city of Konoha was a prospering place. It had decadent buildings used for grocery stores, schools, apparel shops and anything anyone could need. The streets were clean, and the people friendly. During the day, the shopping districts were full of pedestrians, perusing the wares and greeting those they were familiar with. However, as it neared closer to night the roads would slowly empty and the streets lights would come on, luminescing the roads with a soft yellow light.

Amidst the darkness of the late hour, two figures could be seen traveling through the streets, walking quickly and determinedly towards their destination. For anyone who saw them it was obvious that they had a clear destination in mind, and nothing was going to delay them on their path there.

One of the figures abruptly doubled over, clutching their stomach in pain. With the abrupt motion, the figures hair was thrown forward, bringing it into the light of a nearby lamp. The long locks shone a brilliant red color, a color so deep it looked as though they had washed it in blood. The second figure, a tall, dark haired mail, immediately began fussing over the other, who was now clearly seen to be a heavily pregnant young woman.

The woman seemed to compose herself as took a large breath, straightening her spine and marching forward. The man quickly followed.

Ten or so minutes later found the two inside of the largest building in the city, known as the Hokage's tower. The two quickly demanded to be led to the Hokage. The secretary seemed reluctant to do so, particularly because of the late hour, but with a few choice words, and the loud sound of the woman groaning in pain, he was convinced to go rouse the leader from his late-night hours of paperwork.

Within minutes the two were in front of a young, handsome man with yellow-blond hair and sky colored eyes.

Before the blond could ask what was going on the woman began to speak.

"My name is Potter Lily and this is my husband Potter James. We have come to ask you for asylum for our child." Despite the obvious pain on her face, her voice was steady and confident. The young Hokage, known as Namikaze Minato immediately likened her to his own wife who had the same fiery hair and unwavering disposition.

"Please," Minato spoke softly, "Start from the beginning."

Lily took a deep breath, though whether it was to calm the pain from her stomach or to calm her nerves was unknown. "There is a man in our land who is destroying our culture, and is slaughtering our people. He wants nothing but power, and we are in his way. For that reason, he has decided to target us, and any other strong families that might go against his regime. We can protect ourselves, but we will not leave our child at risk there. We want to raise him, to watch him grow into the strong young man we know he will be, but more than that we want to keep him safe. For that reason, we have traveled here to seek help in protecting him. We cannot stay here, as our home needs us to help fight this war, but the least we can do is see that he is kept safe and happy here. We hope to be able to return for him in just a few years, but should the worst happen and we are unable to return, we will leave him with enough money to survive until he is old enough to take care of himself. All we ask from you is that you allow him to stay in this village."

After her long tirade, Lily seemed to exhale all the strength she had in her, and James was quick to push her into a nearby chair and take over the discussion.

"We promise that your village will not be in danger from this. The man we are fighting has no clue that we are here, nor where here even is. Please, for the safety of our unborn child, allow us this favor."

Minato seemed to think for quite a while before finally he sighed and spoke. "I will consider this request, but first I need to know more about this threat."

Hours after Lily and James had talked to Minato, explaining the political climate in their homeland while excluding any obvious talk of magic, they had relocated to the local hospital. Lily's contractions had come closer and closer together until finally it was clear that she needed to be in a hospital, because the baby was coming sooner than later.

After what seemed like a lifetime of pained screaming for Lily and crushed hands for James, the cries of a newborn baby could be heard throughout the hospital room. Lily held the new baby in a soft blue blanket, denoting the gender of the child to be male.

His small tufts of hair showed to be black as pitch, obviously coming from James' side which held the Black family bloodline. His eyes on the other hand were a milky blue-green, hinting at the same color of his mother's beautiful irises.

James stood next to his tired wife and gazed down at the human they had made together. He smiles as he caressed the soft cheeks of the already sleeping child. "What should we name him?" He murmured softly, trying not to wake the sleeping infant.

Lily seemed lost in thought as she gazed down at the small child. Finally, a small smile lifted the corners of her lips and she whispered, so soft you could barely hear her, "Haruki, our little sun."

"Haruki," James repeated. "I like it. Little Haruki Potter."

Lily giggled, though it sounded strained and exhausted. "I don't think he'll be able to keep the last name Potter here."

James pouted, looking more like a child than the father of one. "I suppose, but what will he go by?"

It was at this moment that Minato made his appearance. In respect to the family, he had waited outside the hospital room while Lily was giving birth, but once he was given the all clear he stepped inside.

"If I may, I'd like to make a suggestion," the Hokage said. "I would like to bring Haruki into my family. He could take my last name, and I would be better able to protect him that way. My clan has long since died out other than me, and it would be easy to claim that he is a long lost cousin that has been left to me. I can simply say that his parents are gone. That way I could also look after him more easily."

Lily looked close to tears as she listened. "You don't have to do that, we would never ask such a thing."

Minato smiled. "I know you would never ask, but I am offering. When I see you two I see a copy of my wife and I, and if it makes this any easier for you, I am more than happy to help. And when you two come back, I will be more than happy to present you with your happy and healthy son."

At this point Lily was actively crying, and James had put a hand on her shoulder. It almost seemed for the sake of his comfort as much as it was for hers. James spoke in a gruff voice, "Minato, thank you so much. We cannot express how much this means to us. We are perfect strangers, and yet you are offering us something we never could've expected. I hope you know how grateful we are, and that we will try to do whatever it takes to repay you."

Although the adults in the room had been speaking relatively quietly, little Haruki awoke and with a mighty wail began to cry. All three of the adults in the room froze, and then laughed. "Well, it seems little Haruki has decided that this conversation is over," Minato said with mirth in his voice. "I think for now I will leave you to spend time with the little one. When you are ready, I will return and we will discuss this further."

Almost a week later, Lily and James were preparing to depart back to their own world. They had spent the whole time in the hospital, James sleeping on a cot wheeled in by the nurses. Lily had quickly recuperated, but it was decided that they should wait a while, both to make sure she was strong enough for the long distance back to their home, as well as to give them time to spend with their new son.

They finally had to concede that it was time to go, however. They had already stayed longer than was originally planned, and surely people in the wizarding world would be questioning their absence.

With this in mind, the two stood at the gates of Konoha, holding the bundle that was their son. Minato stood, watching the couple along with his wife who had introduced herself while Lily and James were still in the hospital.

The scene before them was heartbreaking. Lily was holding Haruki to her chest while she quietly cried, whispering words of love and comfort to the baby. James was silent, but had a lovingly sad smile that he directed at his wife and child. Finally, as the day wore on, they decided it was time.

With much reluctance, Lily placed the child in Kushina's arms, kissing his head as she backed away. James did the same, and then they said their final goodbyes, thanking the Konoha couple once again for all they were doing.

Minato simply nodded and shook hands with James, silently assuring him that he would do all he could to protect their son.

Within minutes the wizarding couple were out of the gates and gone from sight, leaving Minato and a very pregnant Kushina alone with the small child. The two stood side by side, no need for words as they stared at the spot that had previously contained the heartbroken couple. They would raise Haruki as though he was their own, until his parents could return.

On the day of the Kyuubi attack, Kushina was in the throes of child birth while Haruki laid asleep in a crib next to her hospital bed. And when both her and Minato failed to survive the ordeal, the new blond baby was laid next to Haruki in said crib, where they both slept curled up next to each other. Unaware that their lives had just changed forever.

Ending A/N: Alrighty! Well, that was the beginning of what will hopefully be a pretty long story! I know I was pretty vague on a lot of it, which was done mostly purposefully to keep from having too much information bogging down the story.

If that seriously bothers anyone, please let me know and I will consider going back and adding a little more information. If not, still let me know what you think! I love to hear people's opinions, even the bad ones!

Thanks for reading, and see you next time!


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: On to chapter two! So, I know that the last chapter was very hurried, but I am a big believer in having everything explained as you go along rather than having one long chapter of exposition. However, if anyone has any questions or concerns about what I have written, please tell me and I will try to answer it!

Now onto the story!

The Konoha orphanage wasn't much to look at. In fact, if you weren't looking for it you wouldn't be able to tell it was different from all of the small houses around it. The only noticeable difference was a small sign at the front door that denoted the name of the orphanage.

Inside seemed equally as boring and unnoteworthy. The children were all still asleep during the early hour, and most of the people working there were quietly going about their business, putting together breakfast and cleaning the remnants of a mess the children had left the night before.

One small, unfurnished room was the exception to the quietness surrounding it. Inside were two little boys, as opposite as night and day, curled up together on a mass of blankets splayed across the floor. One of the little boys had black hair, so dark it seemed to be sucking in the light around it like a black hole. His eyes were open, his pure emerald irises gazing down at the other little boy. He was taking in the bright yellow-blond hair, the naturally tanned skin and the thin whisker like marks scratched across his skin. And, as the other boy awoke, he took in the pure cerulean eyes, so clear in their clarity that they were almost unnerving when they looked at you.

"Good morning Naruto," the black haired one spoke softly, gently patting the other boys head.

The now proclaimed Naruto smiled up at the other. "G'morning Haruki! How long have you been awake and watching me, you creeper?"

Haruki laughed as a large yawn broke up the other boy's accusation. "I've only been awake for a few minutes. And I'm not being creepy, I'm being watchful. I gotta protect my little brother."

Naruto rolled his eyes, but the smile tugging at his lips showed how happy he was at that statement. He and Haruki had been inseparable since the two were only newborns, dropped off at the orphanage on the exact same day. Granted, many children had been dropped off at the orphanage in the wake of the Kyuubi attack, but Haruki and Naruto had come in together. It was obvious the two weren't related, if only based on their appearances, as well as they fact that they were only a few months apart in age. Despite this, the matrons had kept them together in the same crib, largely due to a lack of space in the orphanage after such an influx of children, and the two had never been separated since.

There had been attempts to separate them in the past. The matron didn't like any child being near the "demon child" as she always spat when she saw Naruto, but Haruki had fought and screamed and panicked when they had tried to separate, so she had thrown them into this room together, and the rest was history. They never separated if they could help it.

The two had even been officially filed with the same last name. No one was quite sure why the two obviously unrelated boys shared a clan name, but most didn't think too hard on it. A story began circulating that Naruto had thrown a colossal tantrum over Haruki not having a last name, pitching a fit until the matron agreed to mark his name down as "Haruki Uzumaki". No one knew if it was true or not, and the matron was reluctant to confirm or deny the claim.

Their closeness continued when they both decided to join the ninja academy. At age 4, all children had the option to join the academy, where for the first year or two they would simply receive the same education as all of the other children in kindergarten. And then, when their teacher deemed them ready, they would take a test to see if they could progress on to the actual training to become a shinobi or kunoichi. Both Naruto and Haruki had joined the academy at the same time, but within a year Haruki had been put up for promotion to the next grade. Naruto, on the other hand, was scathingly told that he was lucky to even be in the academy, and could wait another year.

Having heard all of this, Haruki quickly declined their offer to test into the next grade, and instead stayed with Naruto, helping him learn to be ready for the next test nominations that would happen in just a few months.

The thing was, Naruto wasn't dumb. Sure, he was a more visual and hands on learner than most, but if you had the patience to show him something, he could pick it up just fine. Unfortunately for him, none of the teachers seemed to have that patience, and even if they did, there would still be the issue of their homeroom teacher. He hated Naruto, for no reason that the two could figure out, and refused to nominate him. The two had tried to figure out why to no avail.

For this reason, the two of them were nominated at the normal time for their age group, 2 years after joining the academy. This was fairly standard, especially during peace time. To nominate someone for early progression into the next grade was incredibly rare, unless a student showed extraordinary ability to learn and comprehend the materials they were teaching. In Haruki's case, he certainly learned quickly. He almost never had to be taught something twice, and certainly never a third time, before he understood it. But he was convinced that this was not the reason for his nomination. The adults seemed uncomfortable with his closeness to Naruto, and tried everything they could to separate the two. Sending Haruki up to training a year early would almost definitely ensure minimal time spent together by the two children, as training would take up much of his time, and they would no longer share any classes as they currently do.

Despite the adult's attempt to separate them, the two remained close. Just like now, curled up on the mound of blankets, the two were rarely seen apart, and more often than not were touching in some way or another. Sometimes they would cling to each other's hands, afraid to be separated, and others Haruki would simply sling an arm around Naruto's shoulders.

Many people believed the two to be brothers, despite their contrasting appearances, and neither Haruki nor Naruto did anything to dissuade those rumors. In fact, they often referred to each other as nii-chan and otouto. Naruto always pretended to be offended by the reminder that he is the younger of the two, but they both knew he loved it.

Haruki thought about all of this as Naruto slowly roused himself, stretching his arms above his head to work out the kinks from sleeping on the floor. The black-haired child was eternally grateful that he and Naruto had found each other. Naruto was his best friend, and his only family in the world. And he knew that Naruto felt the same about him. Both of them had lost their parents during the Kyuubi attack, or at least that's what they were told, and they had no other family to look to. For that reason, they had clung together as a family of two, always looking out for each other.

Finally, Naruto had fully roused himself and was beginning to get ready for the day. Haruki stood up, beginning to do the same.

As they were getting ready, Naruto all of a sudden froze, turning to Haruki with a frozen look of shock on his face. "Haruki?"

"Yes Naruto?" Haruki spoke with amusement, already knowing what was coming.

"Is today the graduation exam?"

"Yes Naruto."

As soon as these words left Haruki's mouth, Naruto broke into a huge smile and let out a loud whoop, pumping his fist into the air. "Finally! We finally get to be awesome shinobi who kick butt and save princesses and make lots of money!"

Haruki laughed at the exuberance from the other boy. "Yes, but only if we pass the test."

Naruto's happy expression immediately soured, leaving a small pout on his lips. "Yeah, I know that," he muttered unhappily. "But you're so smart, so you'll definitely pass! And you've been helping me, so I know I can pass too!"

Haruki patted Naruto's blond locks, just barely managing to keep from being condescending as he replied. "That's right Naruto. You just keep believing that and you'll be okay. First step is getting to the test, though, so you should probably get ready."

"Alright, 'ttebayo!" Naruto yelled, his verbal tick out and strong. "Let's get ready to do this thing!"

Thirty minutes after the two had woken up, they were ready and heading out the door. They were leaving extremely early, breakfast wasn't even being served at the orphanage yet, but Haruki was very big on punctuality. Naruto not so much, but he begrudgingly went along with Haruki's habits, which often kept him from getting in trouble with the teachers who already didn't like him.

What Naruto didn't know was that his brothers habit of always arriving early had a second purpose. Ever since they were little, Naruto had received glares and insults from all of the civilians in Konoha. Whenever they would have to go shopping, harsh words would be thrown at the blond, and all of the prices would be raised on the goods he would try to buy. On top of that, they would occasionally spit at him, and small children would throw rocks his way. For this reason, Haruki started making them leave early enough that most shops were not even open, and therefor there weren't the crowds that could glare and yell at Naruto. Neither of them knew why Naruto was so hated, but Haruki didn't particularly care. He would do what he had to in order to protect his little brother.

It didn't take them long to get to the academy building, especially with Naruto running ahead and urging Haruki to catch up the entire way there. As was natural for Naruto, his exuberance was not dimmed by the early morning. In fact, with the lack of people in the streets it was even more pronounced than normal.

As they entered the classroom, it was immediately apparent that they had perhaps come too early, as there was only one other person in the room. Sitting in the upper right corner of the class was none other than Shikamaru Nara, the smartest last-place in the class. He was incredibly lazy, and rarely did well in anything. However, it was clear to anyone paying attention that this was done purposefully, belying a genius level intelligence in someone too lazy to act on it. He always scored the exact score he needed to pass, and did the bare minimum in all physical activity. Often times Haruki wondered why he bothered to be there at all, as being a shinobi was not exactly the easier job around.

On the note of Shikamaru being lazy, Haruki was surprised he was already here, as the boy normally showed up just before the teacher did, most likely so he could sleep for as long as possible. Though, on second thought, it looked like Shikamaru was currently making up for that sleep deprivation. His head was on his crossed arms and his sleepy, light breathing could be heard in the silence.

Making a shushing gesture at Naruto who was about to shout out a greeting to the sleeping brunette, Haruki led them to a set of seats a few spots in front of the Nara.

Knowing that Naruto would be unable to remain still and silent in his seat without something to distract him, Haruki quickly brought out a red-covered sketchbook he always carried for Naruto, as well as a basic ink-brush set.

Almost a year ago, Naruto and Haruki had been looking for books to help supplement their knowledge of ninjutsu (well, Haruki was, Naruto was just along for the ride) when they had come across a rudimentary book on sealing. Naruto was initially uninterested, until Haruki showed him a chapter dedicated to exploding tags. With his penchant for troublemaking, the blond was instantly hooked, and had been studying the art ever since. It was slow going, since he had no one to teach him, and he had a hard time learning from books, but he seemed to be a natural at it.

So now, whenever Haruki had to distract him, he brought out the sketchbook for Naruto to practice the seals he had already learned. Naruto had attempted to create his own seals once, but after an accidental explosion had shorn Haruki's hair from shoulder length to barely ear length, the emerald eyed boy had demanded that he cease until he had a firmer grasp on the topic. Naruto, wracked with guilt over the loss of Haruki's beautifully curly black hair, had immediately agreed.

Naruto's interest in sealing came in handy now, as it would suitably distract him until the test started. It would also serve double duty by keeping him from thinking about his nerves. After all, if Naruto didn't pass this test, then they wouldn't be on the same team.

While Naruto was preoccupied with his seals, Haruki decided to focus on mentally reviewing what he thought would be on the test. Most of it was fairly obvious. They would be asking about the history of the village, as well as the names of the other major villages. They would most likely also include questions regarding the specialties found in each village, a topic not particularly explained in class, but that had been snuck into several homework assignments.

Without even realizing it, Haruki began quietly going through these specialties. "Sunagakure specializes in wind releases, Kirigakure uses water, Iwagakure uses Earth, and…" Here Haruki trailed off as he became distracted by several students walking into the room.

After observing the few who had arrived settling into their seats, he turned back to his desk and tried to recall where he had left off.

"Kumogakure." A voice suddenly sounded from behind him.

Turning towards the voice, Haruki was surprised to see a very awake Shikamaru staring down at him from his seat. "I'm sorry?"

"Kumogakure," the lazy pre-teen repeated. "That's the one you missed."

"Right," Haruki muttered, surprised at the interaction, "Kumogakure, the land of lightning. Thank you, Nara-san."

Shikamaru shrugged, not saying anything else as he sat back in his seat, his feet coming up to rest on the desk in front of him. This seemed to signal the end of the conversation, short though it was, so Haruki simply turned to the front. The two had rarely interacted, but they certainly had no animosity between the two of them, so he supposed it wasn't particularly odd for the other to approach him. It was simply unexpected. Especially because the Nara, similar to the rest in his clan, rarely took the initiative unless forced to.

Shrugging off the encounter, Haruki watched as the last few people walked into the room, a nervous aura hanging off of everyone's shoulders. That feeling became infinitely worse as the teacher, Iruka-sense, stepped into the room.

Haruki was very fond of this particularly fond, and gave him a smile when their eyes met. Iruka glanced at Naruto, who was still quietly concentrating on his seals, and gave the green-eyed boy a thankful smile. Haruki was often the only thing that kept Naruto from making a mockery out of their classes, and Iruka had made it apparent how thankful he was for that. Naruto could be a bit of a handful at times.

Only a few minutes after the class was fully assembled, Iruka called for silence. "Today's test will be split into three segments. First, a written test. Then a taijutsu spar, and finally a ninjutsu test. The scores from the three categories will be averaged together, and that final score will be what determines if you pass or fail. So, don't think you can just throw one test and still come out smelling like roses. This exam is meant to test whether or not you are ready to take on the real world as protectors of this village, and I take that very seriously. If I don't think you're ready, you will be held back until next year's exam."

After a short speech consisting of both words of advice and warning, the exams began.

A/N: Alrighty! Another chapter done! So, I was originally planning on continuing this chapter until the exams were over, but then I decided that this seemed like a better place to stop if I didn't want to take make you guys wait a ridiculous amount of time until the next chapter! So here it is!

Just so you all know, this story has no beta reader, so any mistakes are mine, and please feel free to let me know about them!

Also, I've had a few reviewers ask for more explanation into some of the things that have been happening so far, and while I would like to answer all of them, it would kind of spoil some of the story. So instead, I would like to assure you that most of those questions will be explained throughout the story itself! But, if you still feel confused, please let me know and I will try my best to answer those questions.

One person asked me about my schedule for posting on this story. Now that's a hard one to answer, because there really isn't one! I work full-time, and am often too tired to think up good story scenes, so the chapters will kind of just come when they come. I will try to keep them coming pretty frequently though!

Anyways, enough rambling! Thank you so much for reading, and if you have the time please leave a review! I love to hear from you guys!

-Missy


End file.
